The 9/11 "We Remember" Ride

Photo - The 9/11 Epic Ride

3 WEEKS BEFORE
It was a Tuesday like all the others, and a morning that started like most. I was at work in Pomona, California, ready to begin my day researching a project that I was working on. I was in my office, trying hard to tune out the slight commotion across the room...

A shout brought me out of the focus from the software code on my computer screen. I rushed out to the nearby open area where someone had plugged in a small TV... and stared in disbelief as a plane flew straight into a high rise building. I blinked several times to make sure my sight did not deceive me... the smoke billowing from the high rise... the gaping wounds on the side of the building.... and I remembered the time... 8:46 AM on this Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001.

Within a lifetime, there are those few dates that have special meaning to us: our birthday, the day our children was born, or the day that our love ones passed away. It is the actions and events on these dates that defined who we are, that shaped the person that we have become, as they solidifies our past and present, and present to us a possible future.

September 11th was that date for me. I changed on that day. No longer do I look at the world the same way. I am not the boy that I used to be, but now a man, stronger but deeply scarred of knowledge.

On that very day, out of the ashes and chaos, rose others who also developed exceptional strength, those that overcame mighty hurdles and became heroes to other. They are the ones who sacrificed all, who stood on the edge of deep darkness, and still able to see the light through the dark cloudy murk.

The upcoming weekend of September 11th again will have a special meaning to the VeloViets. It is on this weekend for the past 2 years that the VeloViets celebrated this special day with rides in both California and Minnesota. This team synchronization again promises unity and a common bond. And yes... there were memorable stories from last year... of heroes, of sacrifice, of weakness, and of strength. In California, there was Captain Thomas and Anh Tan who risk their chances to complete the ride by pushing Kiet, who had given every ounce of energy he had and could give no more, then there was Uyen, who fell hard and hurt her arms, but would not give up on the ride, and then there was Ironman, who courageously carried the flag throughout the ride, nearly succumbing in the last moment if it was not for the help of his VeloViet teammates.

Three short weeks from now, this date will again made its mark on the VeloViet Team. It will be a ride that promises wonderful memories, and it is these type of epic journeys on the bike that are often self-discovery journeys in life. It will be on this ride that each one of us, as a cyclist and a human, will find out who we are and what we are made of.

These epic moments are few and far between. Come out and embrace these life's moments with the VeloViet. See you all on this moving journey of life!

1 WEEK BEFORE
Of all the rides that the VeloViet Club have done in the past few years, none is more inspiring and moving as our 9/11 "We Remember" Ride to memorialize and pay tribute those men, women, and children who lost their lives in the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Although each one of us are ordinary people, together we are a unified force that will show our friends, families, and local communities our hearts, and the collective soul of this club.

And it is a force that we will discover within on this long journey. It is the actions on this day that will help to define who we are and who we will become. We ARE the Chosen Ones... the ones who carry the torch for others, to shine a light in the deep darkness of night, the ones who are brave enough to take a chance when others will not, and and the ones who will do battle, NEVER giving up and NEVER quit, for the entire 120 miles of this epic journey.

I cannot say more, other than to say 9/11 have changed me and the 9/11 "We Remember" Ride is a changing and a healing for all those that lines up next Sunday at MSP!

THE RIDE
This VeloViet ride served up a supersized plate containing all of the spectacular ingredients on making this the most memorable epic ride the VeloViet ever hosted: a TRIBUTE to those lost in one of the most recent memorable event, the LONGEST ride the VeloViet ever hosted in its 8-year history, the LARGEST rider participation in a VeloViet ride, and the most WOMEN riders participation in a VeloViet ride!

WELCOME... TO THE VELOVIET'S 9/11 "WE REMEMBER" RIDE !

My drive to Orange County from the Inland Empire was one full of memory, but one of peace. The anger and the longing had slowed over time, but the memories still burns brightly inside.

The sky was still in darkness, and dawn is slowly breaking out in the eastern horizon. The streaks of sunlight through the dark, dim lit sky signifies a glimmer of hope, of strength, and of remembrance to come in this epic day.

Underneath this peaceful exterior I am boiling with excitement... of the known and unknown to come. I know the route, a 120-mile trek along the ocean side, as I have done this twice before. The unknown? What will happen I do not know, but I do know that we have given the team as much preparation as we could starting a few months before, and I do know that we have the best support on the road in our Road Captains, and the best supporters in the SAG cars. But time will tell I thought...

I arrived 1/2 hour before the start, and MSP was still deeply quiet in its sleep. Minutes after I arrived, riders started to pull in and the parking lot slowly filled up. I thought it would be a large ride.

What we did not expect was that 84 cyclists showed up to MSP, plus an additional 10 more riders at PCH Rest Stop, totalling 94 riders on this epic ride! When Cap't mentioned the count to me on Bushard, I could not believe it as we originally only had 75 riders signed up. Including the 5 SAG support members, we had 99 people on the road. This officially became the LARGEST epic ride the VeloViet have ever hosted!

Photo - Epic Riders Getting Ready at MSP

Photo - Brian, Ngoc, Dave, Vu, and John Ready to Roll

Some interesting statistic to note. Of the 94 riders, 10 were ladies: 9 from VeloViet and 1 from River Velo. Half of these ladies were riding their first ever century! I chatted with a couple of the new ladies and found that the longest ride one of them did before was 34 miles. Oh boy... should be interesting! Here is a photo of some of our ladies at MSP.

Photo - The Ladies Preparing to Start

Cap't Thomas made a speech on the reason of the ride, and that is to remember the tragedy of 9/11. It is a ride of remembrance, and displaying the unity of strength in a simple act of cycling on this ocean side journey.

The VeloViet team is not alone in this ride, as they too were joined by their good friends from the RiverVelo and Voz cycling clubs.

Photo - Cap't Giving the Pre-Ride Speech

Photo - RiverVelo Epic Riders

Photo - Voz Represented by Chau and Anthony

The roll from MSP was full of energy, with everyone catching up with each other and anticipating of what's to come.

Photo - Lily and Kristee Rolling Out

Photo - Flags Were Carried on Rider's Back

Photo - The Large Pack Splitting Up on Bushard

Photo - VeloViet Pack About to Turn on PCH

At PCH, we met with our brave flag bearer Ironman. Ironman again has volunteered to represent the VeloViet club on the road by carrying an even larger flag this year. We were excited to see Ironman and were ready to do all that we can to make sure that this man will not falter in this quest.

Photo - Ironman and the PCH Crew

Photo - Cap't and the Ladies

Photo - Group Shot at the PCH Rest Stop

After a group shot, we were off! Immediately passing cars started to honk and waved to us as they see the large moving flag flying proudly in the wind. It seemed as if the large pack was connected by heart, by soul, as we had close to 200 legs moving together in synchronization. I was near the front of the pack, and could only hear the fluttering of the flag in the wind and the mechanized sound of a moving peloton.

Photo - Our Flag Bearer Ironman and Mo Proudly Escorting the VeloViet Pack

Photo - Paceline on PCH

This epic ride was not without difficulty, and the first to hit the pack was at the first hill in Newport Beach. The tie-wrap holding the flag to the flag post snapped in the heavy wind. Luckily Ironman is well prepared and he quickly whip out another tie wrap to replace the broken one.

Similar to protecting the team leader in the Tour de France, a small group had stayed to escort Ironman back to the main pack. Once Ironman fixed the flag, this group accelerated hard to catch with the front group.

Then the unthinkable happened... I slowly got dropped on the Newport hills!

What? This was not what I expected. Not this early anyway. I looked at my mileage and it read 12 miles. 12 miles only! Did I burned too much energy on Bushard sprinting back and forth to take pictures? Yikes!

Luckily we caught up to Kristee, who dropped a small bag from her jersey's pocket and a small group stopped to wait for her. I latched onto this group while the flag group had already moved on.

In Newport Beach, there was a partial road closure as there was a triathlon happening at the same time. This allow our group to catch back to the mid pack at Newport Coast.

A second significant incident occurred at this time. We were rolling slowly to a stop and one of our new rider, Paul, did an acrobatic flip over his handlebar. Paul was okay and we moved on to the next rest stop in Dana Point.

At this location, sag car driver #2 Ted hooked up with us, as well as VeloViet San Diego member Sean. Kirk, who started late, also caught up to us. Here I also saw Road Captains Scott and Greg G who had started 1/2 hour after us.

Photo - Lily Loading Up Her Drink at the VeloViet SAG Van

Photo - Sang and Uyen

Photo - BaoAnh and the Ladies

Photo - RiverVelo Cap't Bong and VeloViet Cap't Thomas

Two of our most strongest riders, The Warrior Nic and The Gear Tuan, turned around at this point as they have previous engagement. This lost seems to cause rest of the epic riders to unified more together, and we moved on as a single unit towards the roads to San Clemente.

Photo - The Pack Push Hard to San Clemente

Photo - Flag Group Riding Tighly

Oh but the hills took care of that! As we near San Clemente, a series of hills challenged the Flag Bearer even more, as Ironman is already struggling with the mass amount of wind that had turn his flag into a parachute. Slowly Duc's energy seeped out of his muscled body, the superhero now seemed like a mortal, and left a man struggling on the steep hills. We later found that this was an even more accomplished feat of will as Ironman is recovering from a recent illness.

But say no more. The first rider that I saw helping Ironman is none other than one of our most strongest all-around rider, The Beast Luke. The Beast must have developed a soft heart on this ride and could not bear to see his brother-in-arm struggle on this skyward road. Luke pushed Ironman and the pace quickened on the hills.

This act of valor causes an instant camaraderie reaction from the pack. After Luke tires, strongman Hoa took his turn in pushing Luke. Then Brian joined in. Then Martin, then John, then Sang, then Chanh, and then so many others.

Uyen's account of this ride described these memorable actions. This year she witness the VeloViet's teamwork moments with her own eyes, and described the ride as so much more meaningful to her. Uyen said it warms her heart on how awesome it is to be a part of the club, to be near people that protect and honor the symbol of freedom, to never take freedom for granted, and to seize ...in every way... every aspect of life!

Photo - Martin and Scott Shielding the Pack From the Wind While Hoa Pushes Ironman

Photo - One For All... And All For One!

We reached San Clemente rest stop!

Photo - Riders Arriving to San Clemente, the Last Rest Stop Before Oceanside

Photo - Pack at Carl's

Photo - RiverVelo Hanging in the Shade

Photo - Uyen Capturing the Moment

After a short break, the riders moved on to Camp Pendleton and then to Oceanside. Although there is still more pushing, Ironman seemed to have recover from the hills of Laguna and San Clemente.

We were a popular bunch as Michael described. Everyone we passed were waving as the Stars and Stripes go by. He even noted that people were generally more friendly towards him, even when he was apart from the flag but was wearing the VeloViets jersey, he was getting a lot of hello's and head nods.

Photo - Riders on Old Bikeway

Photo - The Pack on the Bike Path Before Camp Pendleton

Photo - Passing Riders Waving at the Flag Group

Photo - The Pack Finding Some Shade at Camp Pendleton

Photo - The Flag Group Arriving to Oceanside

We arrived to the best sag food ever, thanks to Kiet's wife Tammy. Tammy stayed up late and prepared a feast for the VeloViets and their guests. We had curry chicken sandwiches, Vietnamese rice dish Com Lap Suong, fruits, and snacks. The desert was the best of all... coconut jello! Thank you Anh Kiet and Chi Tammy!

Photo - The Pack Digging In to the SAG Food

Photo - Lilliana Came Down to Oceanside to Cheer On Luke

Photo - The Guys Getting a Breather

Photo - Anh Toan Enjoying His Lunch

Photo - The Pack at Oceanside

Un-plan incidents was not over yet on this ride. First, Keith, Billy, Kym, and most of the RiverVelo team got lost and arrived late to the midway stop when the main pack was moving out. Kym got a ride back in Minh's car, Keith and Billy decided to ride back, while the RiverVelo team decided to take a much needed rest.

The other incidents were mechanical. Brian's front chainring holding bolts worked themselves loose and his large ring fell off. The bolts were non-standard size so Brian had to take a car ride with Lilliana and Luke. Also Lily had a flat just after passing Camp Pendleton's entry gate.

Photo - Brian's Front Chainring Fell Off

Photo - FedEx Fixing Lily's Flat

And the drama continues in the second half...

My vision is growing dimmer. Even the bright sunlight is beginning to close in like a shrouding blackness. I could hear the words of encouragements from my VeloViet teammates, and I wanted to pedal faster, but the never ending fierce wind was having a parachute effect on the flag attached to my bike, and the climb on Stuart Mesa sapped my strength. I slowly slipped back from the main pack...

Ironman slowed significantly and all of our words of encouragement seemed lost.  Seeing Ironman slipped back from the back of the front peloton, a small group rallied tightly around this Flag Bearer. This group now hovers between the front runner and the rear pack. Those strongest of the VeloViets had either moved on, or are staying with the weakened riders in the rear pack. The mid group with Ironman became the protectors of the flag, determined to bring this symbol home.

Initially the group tried to form a tight circle, with the Flag Bearer in its nucleus, to protect him from the strong wind. This helped but was not enough to support Ironman. Hoa again took over and pushed Ironman up this hill, but he quickly tired while pushing, and fighting both the wind and hills. Phong came up too and also took turn helping move Ironman forward, and then A2 Road Captain Toan. All of those VeloViets who had some strength left did what they could to help.

Photo - BigH Pushing Ironman

When the last of the VeloViet members in this group could do no more, The Nomad sensed that this could be the pivotal point on this journey and quickly called on the VeloViet's guests to help. First of the guests to respond was "Movistar" rider James. James had legs like tree trunks and he powered Ironman onward for a good distance. The second guest to respond was "Nalini" rider Steve, who also took his turn after James. Many more took turns. Riders who were not pushing were shielding Ironman tightly from the wind. These many historic VeloViet moments were capture by videographer Uyen and posted on Facebook.

Recap from Cap't indicated he was behind helping Huong. Michael was initially with them but had slowly drifted back to Keith's group. Keith reported that he was with Billy at this time, and Keith slowed down to keep Michael company for a bit to assess his condition. Michael was okay, but could not go beyond a certain pace so he opted to relax and ride. The wind and sun were doing major damage to this pack, but Billy was the strongest and towed these riders back to Carl's Junior.

The mid-pack meanwhile had caught up with the front crew, who waited for the Flag Bearer group. This unit moved on as one to San Clemente.

A quick scan in San Clemente showed The Buddha Thang not too much in a state of harmony with his stomach. Simon is worse for wear, abandoned here in San Clemente, and got a ride from Ted, as well as new member Scott N. Keith and Billy arrived a bit later, and looked as if they were going to pass out since they have not eaten lunch. Sang, Jonathan. and Ngoc volunteered to stay with this rear pack and the others moved on to try to escort the flag and the ladies home.

And there are other stories of bravery on this route. As mentioned previously, this is the largest group of ladies, most of whom are virgin century riders, attempting this VeloViet epic ride. Those ladies that I rode with is Lily, whom I remember is extremely polite on the road. Then there is Huong, who is so determined and is always gritting her teeth as if she is flashing a smile to those around her. Conversations with Huong showed that she has only been riding for a couple of months, but is determined to fisnish this ride!

But the ladies were not alone in their quests. The other riders rallied around them, often giving them a push on the hills of this return journey.

Photo - Cap't Happily Surrounded by the Gorgeous VeloViet Ladies at San Clemente

Photo - Plenty of Pushing on the Hills Into Dana Point

Photo - Huong Being Helped by Thomas

In Dana Point, we said our goodbyes to Ironman as he is meeting up with his wife here. We pulled off to the side of the bike path, and I remembered good conversations and many laughter.  These things are the memories that I will treasured.  By the way, Ironman said that there will be two flags next year!

After our goodbyes, we moved on and finally made it into the final stop in Laguna. Here the riders treated themselves to ice cream!

Photo - The Ladies Still Looking Gorgeous Near the 100 Mile Mark

Photo - Paul, Toan, Lily, and Huong

After Laguna, I remember there were several hard accelerations by Sang and Kevin. This split the mid pack, and I remembered Karen and I going with these two fast riders. Into Newport Beach, we let Sang go as we waited for Karen's husband Dave. I remember we latched onto a group that contained the Rock Racers and Toan.

Photo - Phong and Kevin Working Hard in Newport

Photo - Ted to the Rescue as Simon Abandon Again at Newport Coast

At mile 105, there was a sudden movement after a stop light where the Rock Racing Brothers moved to the front. What was supposed to be a pull turned into a hard push as most had no energy left to ride at a fast tempo. It was the 3 RR Brothers, Karen, and I who were left.

Photo - Group Catching Up in Newport

Photo - Rock Racers Starting Their Move in Newport

The RR Brothers rotated smoothly like a well oiled machine. Karen and I took our turn as well and caught up to Sang. As we neared SART, I remember thinking when will that sprint come? Instead from one of the brother, surprisingly it came from Sang. When he accelerated, I went with him and had some energy to come around to take the sprint. We reached SART first, and the others slowly arrived to SART, the last of which was Kirk. I later found that Dave had gone back to check on the Ladies, flatted, and was the last to arrive to SART. Thanks Dave S!

We moved onward with the remaining leg of this epic journey to MSP.

Photo - Billy, Rock Racer Bros, Karen, and Sang on SART

Photo - Cap't Overjoy that He Made to SART Escorting Both Huong and Kym

Photo - The Last Group of Ladies on SART

The 9/11 Epic Ride once again unified the brotherhood and sisterhood bonds for the VeloViet. It challenged all those attempting to finish the ride, and rewarded the ones that were both physically and mentally capable. It is a wonderful ride that allowed members to show all that the victims and heroes of 9/11 are not forgotten.

This ride could not have happen without the on-the-road support of the Sag Team: Minh, James, Ted, Nu, and Charles. Thank you Sag Team! Also a BIG thank you to Tammy for staying up late to cook for us a wonderful lunch!

Photo - Super SAG Team James, Minh, Ted, and Charles

The magnification of this ride would not be present without our Flag Bearer Ironman. Duc we are indebted to you for representing our fine club, and to be the bearer that carry the symbol of freedom on this long journey. Ironman... We Salute You!

Photo - Flag Bearer Ironman

Congratulations to all the brave first time century riders who completed the ride: Kym, Nicole, ChauLinh, Huong, Lily, Thang, Larry, Vu, and Tommy!

Lastly, thank you to those that contribute to this recap: Uyen for her photos and excitement, BigH, Keith, and Michael for their accounts of the ride, and James for his wonderful photos. Some of the high quality photos from James can be seen on the links below:

www.veloviet.com
http://500px.com/duraacejames/sets/veloviet
www.facebook.com/VeloVietOCteam

Thanks to the 94 riders who participated... and we look forward to riding with you again next year!

Out,
Phong